𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚁𝚈 𝚂𝙸𝚇/𝙿𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙴𝙴 - 𝙸 𝙱𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙴𝚅𝙴 𝙸𝙽 𝚈𝙰'
All I can remember is running and running as far as I could to lead the group of muertos away from the farm, away from Daryl. I had dropped Daryl's knife so I no longer had any weapons to defend myself. After running for about twenty minutes, I finally felt my legs give out and I fell to the ground.
Anita could definitely hear the groans of the muertos from a distance. They were still following her. It seemed like she was a safe distance away from the farm and away from Daryl. Maybe this was her opportunity. Maybe now, she could finally die. Anita sat by the edge of a tree trunk, waiting for the group of muertos to catch up to her and finally claim her as its dinner.
Whilst she waited, she started thinking. Anita killed two muertos. She was able to protect Daryl and the farm. She finally did something useful, something that would keep the group safe. But would she have to live like this forever? If she stayed alive, would she have to kill muertos for the rest of her life? Would she be able to take all that?
Sighing, she stood up before letting out a yelp when she felt her foot get caught in something and she was lifted into the air, hanging by her leg. "I am not dying caught in a rabbit trap." Anita mumbled before using all of her strength to lift her upper body towards her ankle where it was caught by the rope. After fiddling with the rope for a few minutes, she managed to get it loose enough but realised she had nothing to break her fall but it was too late.
Anita fell to the ground, landing on her head. "Goddammit." Anita mumbled as she pulled herself up and felt her head bleeding. Her vision was slightly blurry. She felt like she was going to pass out. Holding onto her head, she made her way to an old farmhouse she had passed about a mile back. There were still no muertos in sight but she could hear them. When she got to the farmhouse, she staggered inside where she fell to the ground and passed out.
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I don't know how long I was passed out for. When I did wake up, my head was throbbing like crazy. I had a horrible headache. It had gotten dark outside which meant I was passed out for a while and I could hear the sound of muertos banging on the walls outside of the farmhouse. I hoped that Daryl was awake and had safely made it back to the farm. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if something happened to him because of me.
Anita groaned as he held onto her head. The sound of muertos banging on the walls and the door didn't make her headache feel any better. Anita's chance to die had finally arrived. She appreciated all of Daryl's efforts to keep her alive but Anita needed this.
She sighed and pulled out the Cherokee rose he had given her. She kept it as a little book mark. "I'm sorry. I hope you're okay, that you're alive. Thank you for doing everything in your power to keep me alive. You have no idea how much it means to me." Anita whispered as she stroked the soft petals of the rose. She didn't even realise a tear was falling down her face until it fell onto the rose. She wiped her face and placed the rose back in her bag before looking at the door.
That was my chance. My chance to finally die. I was finally going to be with my family. I was going to be free. Just as I was going to pull myself up to open the door and allow the muertos inside, I heard gunshots. There were quite a few of them and the loud noise was making my head pound even more. Suddenly, it had gone quiet. There were no gunshots, no groans from muertos, just agonising silence. I had no idea what was going on until I noticed the door handle twisting.
Anita felt her heart pounding as she watched the door handle turning. She had no idea who it could be? Was it Daryl? Had he somehow found her? The door opened and Anita saw not one but two figures at the door, panicking her even more.
The two figures walked inside and stood by a window and Anita's eyes widened in surprise when the moonlight shone on the faces of the two figures.
It was Rick and Shane.
"Oh, thank God." Rick said when he spotted Anita sat on the ground. She had a rather deep gash on her forehead which was covered in blood.
"Are you okay?" Shane asked as he and Rick crouched in front of her. She held onto her head and nodded.
"We should get you back." Rick said, helping Anita up but as soon as she was on her feet, her vision got blurry before everything went black.
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When I woke up, I found myself in a bedroom with a bandage on my forehead. I had no idea what was going on. For a second, I thought I had been kidnapped but that theory was soon scrapped when I saw Maggie walk inside with a plate of food.
"You're awake. How do you feel?" Maggie asked.
"Tired. What happened?" Anita asked.
"Rick and Shane found you holed up in some old farmhouse surrounded by walkers. You had a pretty nasty cut on your forehead." Maggie said.
"Oh my God, Daryl. Is he okay? I had to leave him. I had to lead that herd away from him. Is he okay? Is he alive?" Anita asked in a panic and Maggie smiled softly.
"I admire how much you both care for each other. Daryl is fine. He made his way back here thinking you were here. When he found out you weren't, he did everything in his power to go to find you. It took my Dad injecting him with morphine to stop him so he could rest. He ended up passing out." Maggie explained. "He's fine. He's still resting."
"Thank God." Anita sighed. She didn't even want to think of the other, more upsetting outcome of that situation.
"You should eat, get your energy up." Maggie said.
"No! Why did yer do this?!" The girls heard Daryl yell. They both looked at each other and Anita quickly got out of bed, running to the source of the noise.
As soon as I heard Daryl yelling, I found myself running towards him as fast as I could. I don't know why or how but I found myself in his room. He was laid in bed with his arms extended, like he was trying to push someone off him but there was no-one there. His eyes were closed so he must have been dreaming.
Anita started making her way over to Daryl. He had a bandage on his side where the arrow once was. "Why did yer do this, Anita?!" Daryl cried out in his sleep, making Anita stop in her tracks. It still looked like he was trying to push someone off him. Why was Daryl dreaming about her?"
"I tried so hard to convince ya' not to! Why did yer do this to yerself?!" Daryl cried out. Anita couldn't take anymore so she went over to him and shook him from his sleep.
"Daryl? I'm right here. I didn't do anything. Wake up." Anita said and Daryl jumped as he opened his eyes and let his arms fall. His eyes widened in shock when he saw Anita standing over him with a bandage on her forehead.
"Yer...yer alive? Yer not a walker. Thank God." Daryl said before surprising her by pulling her into a hug. Anita had no idea what was happening or what Daryl was talking about but she didn't say anything. Daryl then pulled away from her, their bodies still very close together. "I had a dream that ya' were a walker and yer were trying to kill me. I thought I failed. I thought ya' killed yerself, Jasmine. I was worried."
"I'm still here, Daryl. I had to lead that herd away from you." Anita said.
"Ya' could've killed yerself if ya' wanted. I was passed out. I wouldn't have been able to stop ya'." Daryl said.
"I know...but I couldn't let you die. I could never put you in harm's way because of me." Anita said with a small smile.
"Yer killed those walkers? Yer covered me in guts?" Daryl asked, making Anita nod.
"I had to lead those muertos away from you, away from the farm. I didn't have any other choice. I'm-"
"Hey, it's okay." Daryl said. "Yer saved my life. Yer killed walkers. Yer not as weak as you think yer are. Yer just as capable as the rest of us. Ya' just don't give yerself a chance to prove it."
"No, it was just a spur of the moment thing. It's never gonna happen again." Anita said.
"Sure it will. Ya' can do it. Ya' just have to believe in yerself. I believe in ya'." Daryl said softly and Anita felt her heart flutter.
Hearing Daryl tell me he believes in me, it made me feel...good. For the first time in a long time, I felt good. I felt butterflies in my stomach as we both just gazed at each other. Every moment that I'm with Daryl, I feel myself getting closer and closer to him and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
As Anita and Daryl sat on the bed together, gazing into each other's eyes, they didn't even realise their hands slowly moving towards the other. Even when their fingertips touched and they felt their hearts fluttering at the contact, they didn't move. It was as their fingers were playing with each other that they realised what was happening and they both pulled their hands away although Anita could not stop a small blush from forming on her face.
"I...um...I'm gonna fix you a plate, okay?" Anita said, looking at her lap. Before Daryl could say anything, she got up and quickly left the room.